Florida Sues OpenAI: ChatGPT "Defective Product," "Nuisance

Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT is a defective product and a public nuisance. This makes Florida the first U.S. state to sue the company and Altman personally. The 83-page complaint claims OpenAI marketed ChatGPT as safe, even though the chatbot delivers dangerous content to minors, facilitates violence, and can lead to user dependency. Florida's Attorney General states OpenAI has "put children at great risk" and warns of potential penalties in the billions. The lawsuit highlights that the free version of ChatGPT lacks real age verification, with tens of thousands of users reportedly under 13. It also states that data collection begins before users agree to terms of service. The complaint even suggests AI use can cause cognitive erosion. What's interesting is the suit cites internal allegations, too. It claims Altman allegedly cut short safety testing for GPT-4o and that OpenAI allocated only 1 to 2 percent of its computing power to AI safety, instead of the promised 20 percent. OpenAI has not yet commented on the lawsuit. The bottom line is this legal approach could set a new precedent for how chatbots are regulated.